Area News Digest

Written by Elizabeth Barrett
Friday, 22 March 2013 14:06

Taken from the news columns of area newspapers.

UP honors Cozad for historic involvement

COZAD—Cozad has been given special recognition by the Union Pacific Train Town USA Registry. The distinction salutes the Haymaker City as one of 97 cities and villages for its historic involvement with the railroad. A proclamation was presented to Cozad officials for the achievement, along with an honorary medallion. President Abraham Lincoln designated a position on the 100th Meridian and issued a challenge for the railroad to be built to that point, and a “Great Excursion” was celebrated at the location for Cozad on Oct. 5, 1866.—reported in the Tri-City Trib.

‘Biggest Loser’ wins by sharing his experiences

BROKEN BOW—Buddy Shuh, a contestant on season 13 of The Biggest Loser, came to Broken Bow recently to tell people of his experience. Shuh explained his journey of losing over 150 pounds, in three phases including before the show, during the show, and after the show. At 403 pounds, his brother helped convince him to try out for the show, and although not wanting to be on TV, he felt he needed to do it for his family. He also talked about the many opportunities that being on the show has offered him such as surfing in Hawaii and touring the White House. He continues working on his goal while reaching out to others as he inspires those at Broken Bow.—reported in the Custer County Chief.

Ogallala stop featured on Passport program

OGALLALA—Ogallala’s Petrified Wood Gallery, along with Strawbale Church at Arthur, are among the 80 featured stops on the Nebraska Tourism Commission’s 2013 Passport program. New this year are special-interest tours featuring top picks from past travelers as well as art galleries, craft breweries and literary stops. The Passport program encourages travelers to explore Nebraska, collect stamps from participating attractions and earn prizes. For the 2013 Passport, the Ogallala gallery is located under Hit the Hot Spots category, while the Arthur Church is listed under the Wrangle the West category.—reported in the Keith County News.

New dean brings vision and experience to NCTA

CURTIS—The current provost of Southeast Missouri State University will be the new dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis. Ronald Rosati will assume the position this summer. Dr. Rosati brings vision, talent, skills and experience to NCTA. He recently visited the campus and presented a 50-slide PowerPoint presentation to the student body, faculty and community members, outlining his experience, philosophy, reasons why he is a good fit and potential tasks for the next dean.—reported in the Frontier County Enterprise.

Flippin’ pancakes for playground equipment

ARNOLD—Pancakes were flipping and sausage was sizzling in Arnold recently when 187 people attended a pancake feed to help raise money for new playground equipment. With the exceptional turnout at the annual event, minus expenses, free-will donations raised $1,400 for the equipment. A new program came into play this year as Rotary’s “Book Buddies” helped to serve, and also helped residents decide on books at a book fair that was set up. Sales of the books were down due to snow days interrupting the fair days, but with the pancake feed, it was the biggest selling day for the program.—reported in the Arnold Sentinel.

Village offered new membership in district

CALLAWAY—The Village of Callaway no longer belongs to the Central Nebraska Economic Development District (CNEDD), but was offered another opportunity to join. The state’s largest economic development district has been on probation with the federal government which dismissed CNEDD’s board and officials for alleged mismanagement and mostly disbanded the program. Gary Van Meter, new head of CNEDD working to restore the district and its credibility, stated Callaway looks pretty good but cannot offer much except dealing with the age factor. Most of the population in the district is aging and pointed to youth entrepreneurship as part of the solution to help bring back jobs and population. Callaway board members opted to table the proposal pending further investigation.—reported in the Callaway Courier.

Weather Forecast

e-Subscription Login

E-Subscriptions are now offered with each week's complete issue available in PDF format on Wednesday afternoons. To purchase an E-Subscription please fill out our Contact Form and select 'Request an e-Subscription.'